Tim Flock
Two-time NASCAR champion with a record 19 poles in 1955.
Julius Timothy Flock (May 11, 1924 – March 31, 1998) was an American stock car racer and a two-time NASCAR series champion. He came from a racing family: his brothers Bob and Fonty Flock also raced in NASCAR, as did his sister Ethel Mobley, NASCAR's second female driver. Flock finished fifth in NASCAR's inaugural Strictly Stock race at Charlotte, North Carolina in 1949, driving a borrowed Oldsmobile 88 from his newlywed neighbors. He won his first official NASCAR race in 1950 at Charlotte, and by 1952 had earned his first Grand National Championship, despite flipping in the final race at West Palm Beach. Flock later joked, "I was the only driver to ever win a championship upside-down."
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Julius Timothy Flock
- Born
- 11 May 1924
- Died
- 31 March 1998
- Birthplace
- Fort Payne, Alabama, U.S.
- Place of death
- Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
- Cause of death
- Liver and throat cancer
- Total cup races
- 187
- Years in cup
- 13
Facts from the source article.
NASCAR career
Flock finished fifth in NASCAR's first Strictly Stock race at Charlotte, North Carolina in 1949, driving a borrowed Oldsmobile 88 from his newlywed neighbors. The inaugural season ended with Flock in eighth place in points, while his brothers Fonty and Bob placed fifth and third respectively. He won his first official NASCAR race in 1950 at Charlotte, running 12 of 19 races and finishing 16th in the standings. In 1951 he won seven races, and in 1952 he earned eight wins and four poles. That season he secured his first Grand National Championship by 106 points over Herb Thomas, despite flipping in the final race at West Palm Beach; Flock later joked about being the only driver to win a championship upside-down. In 1954 he was disqualified after winning at Daytona Beach and Road Course due to illegally screwed carburetor screws. On May 16, 1953, Flock had a rhesus monkey co-driver named Jocko Flocko for a Grand National win at Hickory Motor Speedway, making the monkey the only winning monkey ever. The monkey was retired two weeks later at Raleigh after pulling a tire-wear device and being hit by a pebble; Flock finished third after a pit stop to remove the monkey. In 1955 Flock set records with 19 poles and 18 victories in 45 races, winning his second Grand National Championship. The 18 wins stood as a record until broken by Richard Petty in 1967, and the 19 poles remain the highest single-season total in NASCAR.
Labor union
Tim Flock’s final NASCAR race ended with a disqualification and a lifetime ban for having too much solder on his carburetor screw. The public widely viewed this as retaliation for his support of a drivers’ union, similar to Curtis Turner’s ban. He kept racing elsewhere, placing second in a 100-mile dirt race for the Midwest Association for Race Cars at Lakewood Speedway, Georgia, in October 1961, and later competing in a United States Auto Club event in Concord, North Carolina, in 1963. NASCAR reinstated him in 1966. Afterward, he worked for Ford Motor Company, entertaining customers at track events.
Death
Tim Flock passed away from liver and throat cancer on March 31, 1998, at age 73, during NASCAR’s 50th anniversary year. He had no medical insurance, and weeks before his death, Darrell Waltrip honored him with a special paint scheme called the Tim Flock Special at Darlington Raceway to raise money for Flock and his family. One month earlier, Flock was recognized as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. His many honors include inductions into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1991), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1999), the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1972), the State of Georgia Hall of Fame (1972), and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends (1994). He entered the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in May 2006, and on May 22, 2013, he was named to the NASCAR Hall of Fame for 2014.
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